The heavy launcher of China's major exploration missions.
Long March 5 opens a new class of missions for China. Launched from Wenchang, the family carries probes and heavy payloads; it should not be confused with Long March 2F, which launches Shenzhou spacecraft.
The first flight takes place in November 2016. Large engines and cryogenic stages expand the ability to transport payloads toward the Moon and other planets.
In 2020, the launcher sends Tianwen-1 toward Mars and Chang'e 5 toward the Moon. The 5B variant serves large low-orbit payloads, including space-station modules launched without occupants.
Selected representative missions; crew names belong to the flight shown.
Tianwen-1 carries an orbiter and a landing system intended for Mars.
Chang'e 5 departs to collect lunar samples and return them to Earth, without a crew.
Dates follow the days reported by the source agencies, generally in local time; the UTC day can differ. Crews belong to the selected missions, not every flight in the family.
The family enables heavier and more complex missions in China's robotic exploration programme.
First flight or first test of the family, including unsuccessful or suborbital attempts.
